Streetcar work to shut down part of Central Parkway

The streetcar project is taking a turn, literally, and that means eastbound Central Parkway between Vine and Walnut is being closed for a few days. The closure runs from 6 Thursday night through 7 Monday morning.

Crews will be laying a section of curved streetcar track from Thursday evening through Monday morning.

Credit Mark Heyne / WVXU News

Crews will be installing a section of curved track, one of the turns in the 3.6 mile loop that will connect The Banks to Findlay Market through Downtown and Over-the-Rhine. Project Executive John Deatrick said this is a major milestone as track work crosses into Cincinnati's Central Business District.

"It's the furthest point south that we've gotten," said Deatrick. "We have over 7,000 feet of track in, so you could say what's so important about this. It's really important because it provides us that link to the CBD."

The detour during the closure will be south on Race Street or north on Vine, then east on 12th and south on Walnut.

A section of curved track that was installed at Central and Race.

Credit Mark Heyne / WVXU News

One lane of through traffic on Vine, Walnut and 12th streets will be maintained. However, because of the amount of streetcar construction in the area, project officials are encouraging motorists to use an alternate route. You can get updates at www.roadmapcincy.com.

The work in the CBD doesn't signal track work is finished in Over-the-Rhine. Deatrick said crews won't work on Walnut after the curve is installed; they'll concentrate on finishing in OTR.

The first phase of the system is scheduled to start passenger service in September 2016. Future phases are planned to connect to the University of Cincinnati and Uptown neighborhoods and beyond.